Luis Villegas (born July 28, 1969) is an American guitarist who released an album called '' Cafe Olé'' in 1996, which was nominated for the ''Best New Album'' award at the 41st Annual Grammy Awards in 1999. Villegas's style combines new-age music,

flamenco Flamenco (), in its strictest sense, is an art form based on the various folkloric music traditions of southern Spain, developed within the gitano subculture of the region of Andalusia, and also having historical presence in Extremadura and ...

, and

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

. He is known for using a technique of playing fast, intricate lines by using the fingernail of his right index finger in place of a guitar pick. He also had a small role as a member of a band in the film ''

Collateral Collateral may refer to: Business and finance * Collateral (finance), a borrower's pledge of specific property to a lender, to secure repayment of a loan * Marketing collateral, in marketing and sales Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Collate ...

'' starring

Tom Cruise Thomas Cruise Mapother IV (born July 3, 1962), known professionally as Tom Cruise, is an American actor and producer. One of the world's highest-paid actors, he has received various accolades, including an Honorary Palme d'Or and three Go ...

and

Jamie Foxx Eric Marlon Bishop (born December 13, 1967), known professionally as Jamie Foxx, is an American actor, comedian, and singer. He became widely known for his portrayal of Ray Charles in the 2004 biographical film ''Ray'', for which he won the A ...

. He is currently a member of the group ''Heavy Mellow'', along with founder Benjamin Woods and percussionist Mike Bennett.

Early life

Luis Villegas is a first-generation Mexican-American born in

East Los Angeles, California East Los Angeles ( es, Este de Los Ángeles), or East L.A., is an unincorporated area in Los Angeles County, California. As of the 2020 census it had a population of 118,786, a drop of 6.1% from 2010, when it was 126,496. For statistical purpo ...

, U.S. He grew up listening to traditional Mexican Ranchero music and taught himself to play guitar in the

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

, blues and classical genres. As a boy, he met the Mexican Ranchero singer,

Vicente Fernandez Vicente is an Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese name. Like its French variant, Vincent, it is derived from the Latin name ''Vincentius'' meaning "conquering" (from Latin ''vincere'', "to conquer"). Vicente may refer to: Location *São Vicente, Cap ...

. However, it was rock music that attracted him (rather than traditional Mexican music), because the heavy metal explosion was in full swing in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

Career

Early years

Villegas played in rock bands all through High School and into college, receiving some mild success with the band

Slumlord A slumlord (or slum landlord) is a slang term for a landlord, generally an absentee landlord with more than one property, who attempts to maximize profit by minimizing spending on property maintenance, often in deteriorating neighborhoods, and t ...

in 1988 and 1989 (fronted by Scott Kidd who later went on to become a famous radio DJ known as Uncle Scotty). Luis quit Slumlord in 1990 when he found he needed a different musical stimulus.

Experimental years

After leaving Slumlord, Villegas began playing the acoustic guitar and experimenting with classical,

, and even

music. Being self-taught, he emulated guitarists from the records he listened to like

Wes Montgomery John Leslie "Wes" Montgomery (March 6, 1923 – June 15, 1968) was an American jazz guitarist. Montgomery was known for an unusual technique of plucking the strings with the side of his thumb and his extensive use of octaves, which gave him a dist ...

Paco De Lucia Paco is a Spanish nickname for Francisco. According to folk etymology, the nickname has its origins in Saint Francis of Assisi, who was the father of the Franciscan order; his name was written in Latin by the order as ''Pater Communitatis'' (fat ...

, and Al Di Meola among others. Many of his current techniques are based on flamenco guitar techniques such as

rasgueado Rasgueado (also called Rageo (spelled so or Rajeo), Rasgueo or Rasgeo in Andalusian dialect and flamenco jargon, or even occasionally Rasqueado) is a guitar finger strumming technique commonly associated with flamenco guitar music. It is also use ...

, alzapua and picado. In 1991, he recorded a demo of original material in a style that was very new to American audiences. This new style was being made popular at the time by artists such as The Gipsy Kings, and Strunz and Farah. Luis then formed a band to play some of this new material. The band, which originally consisted of friends from rock bands he had previously played with, formed a huge following in the Los Angeles area.

Café Ole

In 1996, Villegas recorded and released his first CD independently entitled '' Café Ole'', produced by David Scheffler and Guillermo Guzman. Members of his band as well as studio musicians,

Gregg Bissonette Gregg Bissonette (born June 9, 1959) is an American jazz and rock drummer and vocalist. He is the brother of bassist Matt Bissonette, with whom he frequently collaborates. He has played on albums by dozens of recording artists, including David ...

Abraham Laboriel Abraham Laboriel López Sr. (born July 17, 1947) is a Mexican-American bassist who has played on over 4,000 recordings and soundtracks. ''Guitar Player'' magazine called him "the most widely used session bassist of our time". Laboriel is the f ...

, and

The Rippingtons The Rippingtons are an American contemporary jazz group, mainly relating to the genres smooth jazz, jazz fusion, jazz pop, and crossover jazz. Formed in 1985 by guitarist and band leader Russ Freeman, their career has spanned more than three de ...

' Steve Reid, among others lent their talents to the CD. Less than a year later, Luis signed his first recording contract with

Domo Records Domo Records is an independent record label based in Los Angeles, California. Domo Records was established in 1993 by Eiichi Naito, a record producer, recording engineer, and artist manager. ''Domo'' is an abbreviation and romanization of the ...

, and affiliate of

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British Transnational corporation, transnational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in March 1 ...

records. In 1999, ''Café Ole'' was re-released by Domo/EMI records with a new cover and some newly recorded songs in 1998. The album earned a Grammy nomination for ''Best New Age Album'' in 1999. Villegas released his second album, ''Spanish Kiss'', through Baja/TSR records in 2000. He also appeared on various compilation CDs during the following two years. Guitarists worldwide took notice when Villegas' name appeared alongside guitar icons such as Al Di Meola,

Steve Morse Steve J. Morse (born July 28, 1954) is an American guitarist, best known as the founder of the Dixie Dregs and as the lead guitarist of Deep Purple from 1994 to 2022. Morse has also enjoyed a successful solo career and was briefly a member of ...

Ottmar Liebert Ottmar Liebert (born 1 February 1959) is a German guitarist, songwriter and producer best known for his Spanish-influenced music. A five-time Grammy Award nominee, Liebert has received 38 Gold and Platinum certifications in the United States, as ...

Jesse Cook Jesse Arnaud Cook is a Canadian guitarist. He is a Juno Award winner, '' Acoustic Guitar'' Player's Choice Award silver winner in the Flamenco Category, and a three-time winner of the Canadian Smooth Jazz award for Guitarist of the Year. He has ...

and Strunz & Farah. ''Casa Villegas'' (Baja/TSR), his third CD, was released in 2003 and marked Luis' debut as a producer as well as performer. It stayed on the SmoothJazz.com charts for six weeks after its release on the strength of the single "Whittier Blvd.". Villegas was asked by his label, Baja/TSR, to create a Christmas album. After working on it for some time, negotiations for producing the album fell through and Luis subsequently left the label to pursue his career as an independent artist. The Christmas album, ''Guitarras de Navidad'' found its way to his fans anyway. Then, in 2007, the album was updated with several additional songs and a new cover and licensed to the

Tenure Tenure is a category of academic appointment existing in some countries. A tenured post is an indefinite academic appointment that can be terminated only for cause or under extraordinary circumstances, such as financial exigency or program disco ...

label, under the guidance of Juan Carlos Quintero. It was released in August for the 2007 holiday season. In 2001, Villegas recorded a duet with classical guitarist

Liona Boyd Liona Maria Carolynne Boyd, (born 11 July 1949) is a classical guitarist often referred to as the First Lady of the Guitar. Music career Early years Boyd was born in London and grew up in Toronto. Her father grew up in Bilbao, Spain, and her ...

, which was nominated for a Juno Award (the Canadian Grammy). In 2003, he performed with Nuevo Flamenco guitarist

, and performed for

Carmen Electra Tara Leigh Patrick (born April 20, 1972), known professionally as Carmen Electra, is an American actress, model, singer, and media personality. She began her career as a singer after moving to Minneapolis, where she met Prince, who produced h ...

and Dave Navarro's much-publicized wedding on MTV in 2004. Villegas has also worked with Janet Jackson, Marc Anthony, and

Plácido Domingo José Plácido Domingo Embil (born 21 January 1941) is a Spanish opera singer, conductor, and arts administrator. He has recorded over a hundred complete operas and is well known for his versatility, regularly performing in Italian, French ...

. In December, 2004 the Luis Villegas Official Fan Club was formed, and the members continue to fully support Luis’ music. On December 21, 2007, Luis was featured in an interview with Val Zavala and performed with several of his band members on the

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

television show "Life and Times."

Heavy Mellow

Luis is currently performing in a flamenco trio called Heavy Mellow, founded by Los Angeles flamenco guitarist Benjamin Woods. ''Heavy Mellow'' performs heavy metal songs by the likes of Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Black Sabbath, Ozzy Osbourne and others, but in a style of two flamenco guitars and a cajon player. They performed music cruises such as The Monsters of Rock, The Moody Blues Cruise and YES Cruise to the Edge. Heavy Mellow have one self-titled album released in 2013.

Personal life

Luis resides in Los Angeles, CA with his wife, Gloria, and two children Christian and Krista. He is currently teaching guitar at

Santa Monica High School Santa Monica High School, officially abbreviated to SaMoHi, is located in Santa Monica, California. Founded in 1891, it changed location several times in its early years before settling into its present campus at 601 Pico Boulevard. It is a part o ...

as adjunct faculty for

Santa Monica College Santa Monica College (SMC) is a public, community college in Santa Monica, California. Founded as a junior college in 1929, SMC enrolls over 30,000 students in more than 90 fields of study. Although initially serving primarily pre-college high sc ...

and flamenco guitar at

Orange County High School of the Arts Orange County School of the Arts (OCSA, ), is a 7th–12th grade public charter school located in downtown Santa Ana, California. The school caters to middle and high school students with talents in the performing, visual, literary arts, cul ...

as part of its Instrumental Music Conservatory.

Discography

Albums

*''Cafe Olé'' (1998) ''Nominated for a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

for Best New Age Album'' *''Spanish Kiss'' (2000) *''Casa Villegas'' (2003) *''Guitarras De Navidad'' (2007) *''Eastside Democracy'' (2016)

Singles

* ''Eastside'' (2013) * ''Rainbow in the Dark'' (2016) * ''Can’t Take My Eyes Off You'' (2021) * ''Vente Pa Madrid'' (2021) * ''Breathe'' (2021) * ''Cuban Breeze'' (2021)

Other compilation appearances

*''Music for the Spirit, Volume 2'' (1999) (

) *''Guitar Greats: The Best of New Flamenco - Volume I'' (2000) ( Baja/TSR Records) *''Music for the Spirit, Volume 3'' (2001) (

) *''Tabu: Mondo Flamenco'' (2001) (

Narada Narada ( sa, नारद, ), or Narada Muni, is a sage divinity, famous in Hindu traditions as a travelling musician and storyteller, who carries news and enlightening wisdom. He is one of mind-created children of Brahma, the creator god. He ...

) *''Journey to the Heart IV: Music for Massage'' (2002) (

) *''Camino Latino / Latin Journey - Liona Maria Boyd'' (2002) (Moston) *''Guitar Greats: The Best of New Flamenco - Volume II'' (2002) ( Baja/TSR Records) *''Barcelona: Music Celebrating the Flavors of the World'' (2004) (

Williams Sonoma Williams Sonoma is an American retailer of cookware, appliances, and home furnishings. It is owned by Williams-Sonoma, Inc. and was founded by Charles E. (Chuck) Williams in 1956. History In 1947, Chuck Williams settled in Sonoma, Californ ...

) *''Gypsy Spice: Best Of New Flamenco'' (2009) ( Baja/TSR Records) *''The World Of The Spanish Guitar Vol. 1'' (2011) (

Higher Octave Music Higher Octave Music is a sub-label imprint of Narada Productions. Since 2013, it is part of Universal Music Group's Capitol Music Group, which is located in Los Angeles. History Higher Octave was acquired by Virgin Records on behalf of EMI in 19 ...

) *''Guitar Greats: The Best of New Flamenco - Volume III'' (2013) ( Baja/TSR Records)

Musicians

Luis has performed with many artists, such as: * Jackson Browne: singer/guitarist *

: bass * Alberto Salas: piano *

: drums * David Garfield: piano * Carlos Rodriguez: piano * Jose Garcia: guitar/vocals * Juan Carlos Portillo: bass * Rene Camacho: bass * Chris Trujillo: percussion * Ramon Yslas: percussion * Jorge Villanueva: percussion * Pablo Correa: drums * Paul Tchounga: drums *

Andy Abad Fausto Andrés Abad (born August 25, 1972) is an American former professional baseball player. Listed at 6' 1" (1.85 m), 184 lb. (83 k), Abad batted and threw left handed. He is also known as ''Tulile'' (to-lee'-leh) in the Dominican Republi ...

: guitar * Guillermo Guzman: bass * Luis Perez: percussion * Joey Heredia: drums * Ricardo “Tiki” Pasillas: drums * Michito Sanchez: perc * Rique Pantoja: piano * Charlie Bisharat: violin * Steve Reid: percussion * Arturo Solar: trumpet * Garret Smith: trombone * Carlos Cuevas: piano * Fausto Cuevas: percussion * Ronnie Gutierrez: percussion * Ricky Adorno: bass * Scott Vomvolakis: perc * Keith Dasalla: perc * Rene Castro: percussion * Jesse Stern: bass * Cassio Duarte: percussion

External links

Luis Villegas , Official Website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Villegas, Luis Living people American musicians of Mexican descent 1969 births Musicians from California Domo Records artists